Justice and the prevention of genocide

3 Jul 2017

Leading researchers and scholars from around the world will gather at The University of Queensland next week to discuss the growing crisis in human protection.

Nearly seven decades after the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the hopes embedded in that document remain largely unfulfilled.

UQ Provost Professor Aidan Byrne said after the horrors of the Holocaust, the international community’s commitment of ‘never again’ had sadly fallen short.

“We are pleased to host respected scholars from around the world whose work creates awareness of the atrocities linked to genocide and promote the necessity of prevention,” Professor Byrne said.

Conference co-convenor Dr Melanie O’Brien from UQ’s TC Beirne School of Law said genocide scholars carried out crucial work on understanding genocide and other mass atrocities.

“Being a multi-disciplinary organisation, IAGS enables scholars to learn about developments in diverse fields of study, which serves only to enrich our understanding and analysis of mass atrocities and thus how we can prevent and punish them,” she said.

Keynote Speakers include Gloria Atiba Davies Head of Gender and Children’s Unit at the International Criminal Court, Professor Alex Bellamy, who in addition to his role at APR2P, is Non-Resident Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute, New York, and William Smith, Deputy Co-Prosecutor of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

There are a number of public events during the conference including Gloria Atiba Davies’ address on the International Criminal Court and Culture Under Attack: a photographic exhibition hosted by the Australian Red Cross and the APR2P.

The conference runs from 9 - 13 July. See the website for the full conference program.